JP5716635B2 - Electronic data management method, program, and electronic data management apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic data management method, a program, and an electronic data management apparatus for managing electronic data.

  Conventionally, in daily work, electronic data such as created files are shared and reused. For example, a file created as a meeting material is shared using a file server or the like. Then, as necessary, browsing of the shared file and creation of new materials using the browsed file are performed. At this time, in order to reuse a file created by another person, it is necessary to find a target file from many files stored in the file server.

  Therefore, in order to make it easy to find the target file, file management is performed by giving a file name that makes the file contents easy to understand for each file, creating a folder for each project, group, or meeting. Yes.

  In addition to information such as file creator or updater, file creation date or update date, keywords are added to the file as metadata, and a search is performed using this metadata. To make it easier to find.

In relation to the above technique, a file server that identifies a user identifier included in a file access request from a terminal is known.
There is also known a recording device that records content, content attributes, and information about a person who was around when the content was recorded in association with each other.

  In addition, there is known an information adding device that can easily add metadata to imaging data by narrowing down metadata when adding metadata to imaging data.

  There is also known an information retrieval apparatus that facilitates retrieval of related information using past retrieval operation information extracted from an access history. This information retrieval apparatus creates a plurality of clusters by dividing an access history. Then, the information search apparatus ranks the documents included in each cluster according to the access frequency, and displays the higher access frequency on the screen as the more useful one.

  In addition, there is known a context data generation / utilization method for generating context data expressing a relationship between contents and sharing the generated context data among a plurality of users.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-004037 JP 2005-110869 A JP 2008-270975 A JP-A-10-011458 JP 2002-251311 A

  In one aspect, the present method is intended to provide an electronic data management method that facilitates retrieval of desired electronic data.

According to one aspect of the present method, the present method is a method performed by the information processing apparatus, and performs the following processing.
When the method detects an access from an external device to electronic data stored in a storage device, the external device outputs arbitrary electronic data from the external device that has accessed the electronic data. Get output device information.

  In addition, the method may include the electronic data output to the output device based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device and a user other than the first user according to the output device information. The second user who browsed is estimated.

  In addition, the method generates related information that associates the electronic data with identification information that identifies a second user who is estimated to have browsed the electronic data, and stores the related information in a storage device.

  In one aspect, the method can provide an electronic data management method that facilitates retrieval of desired electronic data.

It is a figure explaining the electronic data management apparatus. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information sharing system 200 that uses a file management server 210. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of output device information 300. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the appearance determination method table. It is a figure which shows an example of the schedule information. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of file management information 600. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the user location information 700. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a metadata table 800. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating file management processing by a file management server 210. It is a figure explaining the example of the apparatus information 1000. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process for generating output device information 300. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a process of the file management server. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a process of the file management server. 5 is a flowchart showing search processing by a file management server 210. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a file management server 210. FIG.

  When managing files using file names, folder names, metadata, etc., the file name of a file created by another person, the folder name of a folder created by another person, and the metadata created by another person are not expressed. Arise. Therefore, it may not be appropriate as a keyword used for search.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to automatically create file names, folder names, and metadata according to certain rules. In this case, for example, the metadata is created using information obtained at the time of creating the file, information obtained by directly accessing the file, and the like. However, it is difficult to add metadata that you consider necessary to a file created by another person, that is, a file that you have never accessed directly.

  For example, in order to make it possible to search for materials that were viewed during the meeting and that were projected on the projector, the materials that were viewed by the projector during the meeting are materials that you have seen. It is difficult to add metadata to the effect. For this reason, it has been difficult to find a desired material based on ambiguous information such as a material that has been "seen" at a meeting held last month.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the embodiments described below are merely examples, and are not intended to exclude various modifications and technical applications that are not explicitly described below. In other words, the present embodiment can be implemented with various modifications such as combining the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present embodiment. Further, the processing procedure shown in the flowchart format in FIGS. 9 and 11 to 13 is not intended to limit the order of processing. Therefore, it is natural that the processing order may be changed when possible.

<Example>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an electronic data management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment.
The electronic data management apparatus 100 includes a device information acquisition unit 110, an estimation unit 120, and a storage processing unit 130. The device information acquisition unit 110, the estimation unit 120, and the storage processing unit 130 can be realized by causing a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) included in the electronic data management apparatus 100 to execute a predetermined program command. Therefore, the electronic data management apparatus 100 may be realized using an information processing apparatus including general components.

  When the device information acquisition unit 110 detects access from the external device 150 to the electronic data stored in the storage device 140, the external device 150 outputs arbitrary electronic data from the external device 150 that has accessed the electronic data. Output device information including information about the output device 160 is acquired.

  The estimating unit 120 browses the electronic data output to the output device 160 based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device 150 and the user other than the first user according to the output device information. Estimate users. For example, the estimation unit 120 estimates a second user who has viewed electronic data output to a projector that is the output device 160 by the first user.

  The relationship between the first user and the user other than the first user used for estimation includes the distance between the first user and the user other than the first user, the location of the first user, and The relationship with the location of a user other than the first user can be used. The storage processing unit 130 generates related information that associates the electronic data with the second identification information that identifies the second user estimated to have browsed the electronic data, and stores the related information in the storage device 140.

The storage device 140 is a storage device that stores electronic data. As the storage device 140, for example, a magnetic disk storage device or the like can be used.
The external device 150 is a device, such as a PC (Personal Computer), that is connected to the electronic data management device 100 so that they can communicate with each other using wired or wireless communication.

  The output device 160 is an audio device such as a projector or a speaker connected to the external device 150, for example. When a display is connected to the external device 150, the output device 160 can include the external device 150 itself.

  As described above, the electronic data management apparatus 100 browses the electronic data output to the output device 160 from the relationship between the first user and a user other than the first user according to the output device information. The estimated second user is estimated. Then, the electronic data management device 100 generates related information that associates the electronic data with the identification information that identifies the second user who has estimated that the electronic data has been browsed, and stores the related information in the storage device 140.

  As a result, if the related information is used, even electronic data just browsed by the second user can be easily searched. Therefore, the electronic data management apparatus 100 can provide an electronic data management method that facilitates searching for desired electronic data.

≪Other examples≫
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information sharing system 200 using the file management server 210 according to another embodiment.

The information sharing system 200 includes a file management server 210, a location management server 220, and a scheduler 230.
The file management server 210 is an information processing apparatus that stores electronic data such as an electronic file in the storage device 211 and manages the electronic data stored in the storage device 211. The electronic data stored in the storage device 211 can be managed using file management information 600 described later with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the electronic file is simply referred to as “file”.

  In order to manage the electronic data stored in the storage device 211, the file management server 210 uses a metadata table 800 including metadata for each file in addition to the file management information 600.

The metadata can include information related to a user who is estimated to have browsed the file. The metadata table 800 will be described later with reference to FIG.
In addition, the file management server 210 uses the appearance determination method table 400 used to estimate the user who has viewed the file. The appearance determination method table 400 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The file management server 210 also includes a storage device 211 that stores files. The storage device 211 may be provided inside the file management server 210. The file management server 210 is communicably connected to the location management server 220 and the scheduler 230 via a network. Further, the file management server 210 is communicably connected to the PC 240 via a network.

  Although FIG. 1 illustrates the case where the PC 240 is connected to the file management server 210, the device connected to the file management server 210 is not limited to the PC 240. For example, the file management server 210 can be provided with an interface that is communicably connected to various devices such as a so-called smartphone or a portable terminal having a network connection function. In the present embodiment, devices that are communicably connected to the file management server 210 are generally referred to as “user terminals”.

  The user terminal and an output device connected to the user terminal, for example, the projector 241 can communicate with each other using a protocol conforming to the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) standard. Further, the user terminal stores device information 1000 including an identifier for identifying the user terminal in a storage device provided in the user terminal. Similarly, the output device connected to the user terminal stores device information 1000 including an identifier for identifying the output device in a storage device provided in the output device. The device information 1000 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The user terminal acquires device information 1000 acquired from the output device. Then, the user terminal generates output device information 300 from its own device information 1000 and device information 1000 acquired from the output device. The user terminal notifies the output device information 300 to the file management server 210 in response to a request from the file management server 210.

  1 shows a case where the file management server 210, the location management server 220, the scheduler 230, and the PC 240 are connected by wire, but it is natural that they may be connected using radio. It is.

  The position management server 220 is an information processing apparatus that manages the positions of the users 250-270. The location management server 220 periodically communicates with communication terminals 251-271 carried by users 250-270, respectively. Then, the position management server 220 acquires the current position of the user 250-270 from the communication terminal 251-271.

  The communication terminal 251-271 stores a user ID assigned to each user 250-270 who carries the communication terminal 251-271. Each of the communication terminals 251-271 includes a GPS (Global Position System). For example, the communication terminals 251 to 271 specify the current position periodically using GPS. In response to a request from the location management server 220, the communication terminal 251-271 notifies the location management server 220 of the current location along with the user ID.

  Note that the communication terminal 251-271 may include a measuring device that measures the radio field intensity of a wireless radio wave such as WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). In this case, the communication terminals 251-271 periodically measure the radio field intensity of specific radio waves received from one or more repeaters. Then, the communication terminal 251-271 responds to the measured radio field intensity using information obtained by measuring in advance the relationship between the radio field intensity of a specific radio wave received from each repeater and the position where the radio field intensity is obtained. Specify the current location.

The location management server 220 creates user location information 700, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 7, from the obtained location of the users 250-270.
In FIG. 1, to simplify the drawing, the case where three users 250-270 are in the conference room A is illustrated, but it is natural that the number of users and the location of the users are not limited. is there.

  The scheduler 230 is an information processing apparatus that creates and stores the schedule information 500 of the user 250-270 according to the input by the user 250-270. The schedule information 500 will be described later with reference to FIG. Further, the scheduler 230 updates the contents of the schedule information 500 according to the input from the users 250-270. Further, the scheduler 230 notifies the file management server 210 of schedule information 500 in response to a request from the file management server 210.

  In the above configuration, an operation when the user 250 displays the file A stored in the file management server 210 on the screen 242 using the projector 241 connected to the PC 240 will be described as an example.

  (1) The PC 240 accesses the file management server 210 by a predetermined operation of the user 250. When the access from the PC 240 is detected, the file management server 210 performs an authentication process to check whether the accessing user is a valid user who can access the file stored in the file management server 210. When the authentication process confirms that the user is a valid user, the PC 240 acquires the file A from the file management server 210.

  Hereinafter, a user who has accessed the file management server 210 and has been confirmed as a valid user who can access a file stored in the file management server 210 will be referred to as an “access user”. As the user ID (Identification Data) of the access user, the user ID input from the PC 240 during the authentication process can be used.

  (2) When the user 250 performs a predetermined operation, the PC 240 outputs the file A acquired from the file management server 210 to the projector 241. Then, the projector 241 displays the file A on the screen 242.

  (3) On the other hand, the file management server 210 acquires the output device information 300 from the PC 240 that has accessed the file management server 210. The output device information 300 is information about an output destination device that can output a file acquired from the file management server 210 by the user terminal that has accessed the file management server 210, in the example of FIG. A specific example of the output device information 300 will be described with reference to FIG.

  (4) When the output device information 300 is acquired, the file management server 210 uses an appearance determination method for estimating a user who is browsing the file A displayed on the output device specified by the output device information 300. Obtained from the appearance determination method table 400.

  (5) The file management server 210 acquires the schedule information 500 from the scheduler 230. Then, the file management server 210 identifies the current location of the access user based on the acquired schedule information 500.

  (6) The file management server 210 acquires the user position information 700 from the position management server 220. Then, the file management server 210 calculates the distance between the access user and other users. Then, the file management server 210 extracts users whose calculated distance is within a certain range defined by the appearance determination method. This extracted user is referred to as a “proximity user”.

  (7) The file management server 210 refers to the schedule information 500 and extracts a proximity user in the same location as the access user. This extracted proximity user is referred to as a “viewing user”. The file management server 210 estimates that the browsing user has browsed the file A displayed on the projector 241 by the accessing user. Then, the file management server 210 generates metadata including information indicating that “I saw the file A” for each browsing user. Then, the file management server 210 stores metadata in the metadata table 800 in association with the file A and metadata including information indicating that the viewing user and “I have seen the file A”.

  FIG. 1 illustrates the case where the file management server 210, the location management server 220, and the scheduler 230 are separate devices. However, the file management server 210 may include functions of one or both of the location management server 220 and the scheduler 230.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the output device information 300. When receiving a request for the output device information 300 from the file management server 210, the user terminal that has accessed the file management server 210, for example, the PC 240 shown in FIG. 2, creates the output device information 300 and outputs it to the file management server 210. .

The output device information 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 is an example of the output device information 300 created using XML (Extensible Markup Language).
The output device information 300 includes a <deviceinfo> tag. The <deviceinfo> tag includes one or more <device> tags. The <device> tag attribute type represents an output device included in the user terminal. The output device can include a device capable of displaying a file among devices connected to the user terminal, for example, an audio device such as a projector or a speaker. Moreover, when a display is connected to the user terminal, the output device can include the user terminal itself.

  The output device information 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 is an example of the output device information 300 including “project” and “PC” as output devices.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance determination method table 400.
The appearance determination method table 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 defines, for each output device, an appearance determination method, that is, a determination method for determining a browsing user who seems to be browsing a file displayed on the output device.

  The appearance determination method may include an access user schedule, an inter-user distance, and a proximity user schedule. In addition, the access user schedule and the proximity user schedule can be represented by a planned whereabouts.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 4, when the output device is a projector and the access user's location is the conference room A, the location is the conference room among neighboring users whose distance to the access user is within 20 (m). It is defined that the user A is a viewing user.

  Similarly, when the output device is a projector and the access user's whereabouts are the conference room B, among the adjacent users whose distance to the access user is within 5 (m), the user whose location is the conference room B views Defined as a user.

In addition, “-” described in FIG. 4 means that it is not used as a condition for appearance determination.
For example, when the output device is a projector, when there is no information regarding the access user's schedule, it is defined that the user whose distance from the access user is within 5 (m) is the viewing user.

  In addition, in the appearance determination method table 400 illustrated in FIG. 4, it can be added to the determination condition that the output of the audio that is the output device is equal to or greater than a certain level. If the audio connected to the user terminal has a certain level of output, it can be assumed that a presentation is being performed, so it can be estimated that a user within a certain range from the user terminal is watching the presentation. Because.

  Further, in the appearance determination method table 400 shown in FIG. 4, it is determined that the angle formed by the user 250-270 obtained from the user terminal such as a smartphone or the communication terminal 251-271 is within a certain value. Can be included in the condition. This is because if the users are facing different directions, it can be estimated that they are not looking at the same thing even if they are nearby.

  In addition, when obtaining information on the orientation of the user 250-270 from the communication terminal 251-271, the communication terminal 251-271 may detect the orientation of the communication terminal using an acceleration sensor such as a gyro sensor.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the schedule information 500.
The schedule information 500 shown in FIG. 5 stores the schedule of each user every 90 minutes. The schedule can be represented, for example, by a planned location.

  For example, a user with a user ID “0001”, a user with a user ID “0002”, and a user with a user ID “0003” are scheduled to be in the conference room A from 9:30 to 11:00. A user with a user ID “0004” is scheduled to be in the conference room B from 9:30 to 11:00.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the file management information 600.
The file management information 600 shown in FIG. 6 includes a file ID that is identification information for identifying a file stored in the storage device 211, a file name of the file identified by the file ID, and a user ID of the user who created the file. This is information including a certain creator ID.

  In the file management information 600 of FIG. 6, for example, a file with a file ID “00001” is exemplified. The file with the file ID “00001” has a file name “Conference A.pptx” created by the user with the user ID “0001”.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user position information 700.
The user position information 700 illustrated in FIG. 7 is information including a user ID and position information indicating the current position of the user with the user ID. The current position of the communication terminal carried by the user can be used as the current position of the user.

  In the user position information 700 of FIG. 7, for example, the current position of the user with the user ID “0001” is illustrated. According to this user position information 700, it can be seen that the current position of the user with the user ID “0001” is (x, y, z) = (15, 170, 1).

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the metadata table 800.
The metadata table 800 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a file ID, a user ID of a browsing user estimated to have browsed the file with the file ID, and metadata indicating that the browsing user has browsed the file. Information.

  The metadata includes a “seen” tag indicating that the file has been viewed. In this “seen” tag, “date and time” when the file was browsed, “output device” where the browsed file was displayed, “sound” presence / absence, “display user” indicating the user ID of the user who displayed the file Various attributes can be added as needed, such as “location” where the file is displayed.

  FIG. 8 illustrates the case where the “seen” tag includes “date and time”, “output device”, “sound”, “display user”, and “location” as attributes. It is not intended to limit the attributes included in the “seen” tag.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing file management processing by the file management server 210.
The file management server 210 waits for a file access from a user terminal that is communicably connected to the file management server 210 via a wired or wireless network (NO in steps S901 and S902).

  When file access is detected from the user terminal (YES in step S902), the file management server 210 performs user authentication (step S903). In this user authentication, for example, the file management server 210 requests the user terminal to input a user ID and a password. If the user ID and password input from the user terminal are in the list of user IDs and passwords stored in advance, the file management server 210 determines that the user ID input from the user terminal is a valid user. It is determined that it is a user ID. The file management server 210 uses the user ID input from the user terminal as the user ID of the access user.

  Although not shown, when it is determined in step S903 that the user ID input from the user terminal is not a valid user ID, the file management server 210 moves the process to step S901.

If it is determined that the user ID input from the user terminal is a valid user ID, the file management server 210 moves the process to step S904.
In step S904, the file management server 210 permits the user terminal to access a file stored in the file management server 210. Then, the user terminal reads a file stored in the file management server 210 in accordance with a predetermined operation by the user, and reads the read file from the display of the user terminal or an output device connected to the user terminal, such as a projector. To display.

In step S905, the file management server 210 acquires the output device information 300 from the user terminal.
In step S906, the file management server 210 refers to the appearance determination method table 400 stored in the storage device 211. Then, the file management server 210 determines an appearance determination method according to the output device specified by the output device information 300 acquired in step S905. If a plurality of appearance determination methods corresponding to a specific output device are defined in the appearance determination method table 400 as in the appearance determination method corresponding to the projector shown in FIG. 210 uses the appearance determination method according to the location of the access user.

  In step S <b> 907, the file management server 210 acquires schedule information 500 from the scheduler 230. Then, the file management server 210 identifies the location of the access user at the current time based on the acquired schedule information 500. When the location of the access user at the current time is not set in the schedule information 500, the file management server 210 determines that the access user's schedule is unknown (no information).

  In step S <b> 908, the file management server 210 acquires user position information 700 from the position management server 220. Then, the file management server 210 uses the acquired user position information 700 to calculate the distance between the position of the access user and the position of another user. Then, the file management server 210 extracts a user whose calculated distance is within the inter-user distance specified by the appearance determination method determined in step S906 from the user position information 700 as a proximity user.

  In step S909, if the near-field user's schedule is specified in the appearance determination method determined in step S906 (YES in step S909), the file management server 210 moves the process to step S910. In this case, the file management server 210 uses the schedule information 500 acquired in step S907 to extract a proximity user that matches the schedule of the proximity user specified by the appearance determination method determined in step S906 (step S910). ). Then, the file management server 210 moves the process to step S911.

  In addition, when the near-field user's schedule is not specified in the appearance determination method determined in step S906 (NO in step S909), the file management server 210 moves the process to step S911.

  In step S911, the file management server 210 performs a look determination according to the look determination method determined in step S906, and detects a browsing user from the proximity users specified in step S908.

  For example, consider a case where the output device specified by the output device information 300 acquired in step S905 is a projector and the location of the access user specified in step S907 is the conference room A. In this case, according to the appearance determination method table 400 shown in FIG. 4, the file management server 210 extracts a close user whose inter-user distance is within 20 m in step S908. Then, the file management server 210 detects the proximity user identified in step S910 among the proximity users extracted in step S908, that is, the user whose location is the conference room A as the browsing user.

  Also, for example, consider a case where the output device specified by the output device information 300 acquired in step S905 is a projector, and the access user's schedule is determined to be unknown (no information) in step S907. In this case, according to the appearance determination method table 400 shown in FIG. 4, the file management server 210 extracts a close user whose inter-user distance is within 5 m in step S908. Then, the file management server 210 detects the proximity user extracted in step S908 as a browsing user.

  Further, for example, consider a case where the output device specified by the output device information 300 acquired in step S905 is a PC. In this case, according to the appearance determination method table 400 shown in FIG. 4, the file management server 210 extracts a close user whose inter-user distance is within 2 m in step S908. Then, the file management server 210 detects the proximity user extracted in step S908 as a browsing user.

  In step S912, the file management server 210 creates metadata for each browsing user detected in step S911. In step S <b> 913, the file management server 210 stores the user ID and metadata of the browsing user in the metadata table 800 in association with the file ID of the file estimated to be browsed.

When the above process ends, the file management server 210 moves the process to step S901. Then, the file management server 210 starts processing from step S901.
As described with reference to FIG. 9, in this embodiment, the location management server 220 notifies the file management server 210 of user location information 700 in response to a request from the file management server 210. However, the location management server 220 acquires the conditions specified by the file management server 210, for example, the user ID of the user whose user distance matches the specific user ID from the user location information 700, and sends it to the file management server 210. You may make it notify.

  In this embodiment, the scheduler 230 notifies the file management server 210 of the schedule information 500 in response to a request from the file management server 210. However, the scheduler 230 may acquire a location that matches the user ID and time specified by the file management server 210 from the schedule information 500 and notify the file management server 210 of the location. Further, the scheduler 230 may acquire the user ID of the user who matches the location and time specified by the file management server 210 from the schedule information 500 and notify the file management server 210 of the user ID.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information 1000 stored in the user terminal and the output device connected to the user terminal. For the device information 1000, Device Description defined in the UPnP standard can be used.

  In the present embodiment, as the device information 1000, Device Description in which a <htip: X_DeviceCategory> tag that defines an identifier corresponding to a user terminal or an output device connected to the user terminal is used is used.

FIG. 10 shows an example of Device Description that is device information 1000 stored by the projector.
In Device Description shown in FIG. 10, “project” is defined by a <htip: X_DeviceCategory> tag. “Projector” is an example of an identifier representing a projector. However, “projector” is an example of an identifier representing a projector, and the identifier representing a projector is not limited to “projector”. The identifier of the user terminal or the output device connected to the user terminal can be defined by an arbitrary character string or the like as necessary.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a process for generating the output device information 300 by the user terminal.
In this embodiment, the UPnP standard is used for communication between the user terminal and the output device. Therefore, FIG. 11 shows only the processing of the portion used in the present embodiment in the communication between the user terminal and the output device using the UPnP standard.

In step S1101, the user terminal reads device information (Device Description) stored in advance in a storage device included in the user terminal.
When the output device is connected to the user terminal (YES in step S1102), the user terminal proceeds to step S1103. In this case, the user terminal acquires device information 1000 from the output device (step S1103).

  In step S1104, the user terminal generates output device information 300 from the device information 1000 acquired in steps S1101 and S1103. In this case, the user terminal acquires the identifier defined by the <htip: X_DeviceCategory> tag from the device information 1000 acquired in steps S1101 and S1103. Then, the user terminal generates output device information 300 including a <device> tag having an identifier defined by the <htip: X_DeviceCategory> tag as an attribute type.

  When the output device information 300 is generated, the user terminal stores the generated output device information 300 in a storage device provided in the user terminal. Then, the user terminal ends the generation process of the output device information 300 (step S1105).

12 and 13 are diagrams illustrating specific examples of processing of the file management server 210. FIG.
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining processing when the user with the user ID “0001” displays the file A stored in the file management server 210 on the screen 242 using the projector 241 connected to the PC 240. . Note that steps S905 to S908 and steps S910 to S913 illustrated in FIG. 12 indicate processing corresponding to steps S905 to S908 and steps S910 to S913 illustrated in FIG. However, Steps S905 to S908 and Steps S910 to S913 illustrated in FIG. 12 are not intended to limit Steps S905 to S908 and Steps S910 to S913 illustrated in FIG.

  In step S <b> 905, the file management server 210 acquires the output device information 300 from the PC 240. Since the projector is connected to the PC 240, the file management server 210 acquires, for example, the output device information 300 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the output device information 300 includes two attribute types of a projector and a PC, the file management server 210 determines that the output device specified by the output device information 300 is a projector. When the output device information 300 includes a plurality of attribute types, the output device may be determined according to a predetermined priority order.

  In step S <b> 906, the file management server 210 refers to the appearance determination method table 400 stored in the storage device 211. Then, the file management server 210 determines an appearance determination method corresponding to the projector.

  Note that the appearance determination method table 400 shown in FIG. 4 includes a plurality of appearance determination methods corresponding to the projector. In this case, the file management server 210 uses the appearance determination method according to the location of the access user.

  In step S907, the file management server 210 acquires the schedule information 500 at the current time from the scheduler 230. Then, the file management server 210 acquires the access user's schedule from the schedule information 500.

  In this embodiment, the current time is 10:00. In this case, the file management server 210 can acquire the schedule of the access user whose user ID is “0001”, that is, “conference room A” from the schedule information 500 shown in FIG. In this case, the appearance determination method corresponding to the projector is the determination condition at the top of the appearance determination method table 400 in FIG. 4, that is, the proximity between the user and the schedule is “meeting room A” within 20 m. The determination method uses the determination condition that the user is a user.

  In step S908, the file management server 210 acquires the user position information 700 from the position management server 220, and extracts a proximity user whose distance from the access user is within 20 m.

  For example, in the case of the user location information 700 shown in FIG. 7, the user with the user ID “0001” who is the access user and the proximity user within 20 m are the users with the user IDs “0002”, “0003” and “0004” .

  In step S910, the file management server 210 identifies a user whose current time schedule is “meeting room A” among the proximity users extracted in step S908 from the schedule information 500 acquired in step S907.

  For example, in the case of the schedule information 500 shown in FIG. 5, the file management server 210 identifies users with user IDs “0002” and “0003” as neighboring users whose current time schedule is “meeting room A”. To do.

  In step S911, the file management server 210 estimates that the proximity users having the user IDs “0002” and “0003” are viewing users from the results of steps S908 and S910.

  In step S <b> 912, the file management server 210 creates the viewing user metadata of the user IDs “0002” and “0003”. In step S <b> 913, the file management server 210 stores the user ID and metadata of the browsing user in the metadata table 800 in association with the file ID of the file estimated to be browsed.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining processing when the user with the user ID “0001” displays the file A stored in the file management server 210 on the PC 240 to which no output device is connected. Note that steps S905 to S906, S908, and S911 to S913 illustrated in FIG. 13 indicate processes corresponding to steps S905 to S906, S908, and S911 to S913 illustrated in FIG. However, Steps S905 to S906, Steps S908, and Steps S911 to S913 illustrated in FIG. 13 are not intended to limit Steps S905 to S906, Steps S908, and Steps S911 to S913 illustrated in FIG.

  In step S <b> 905, the file management server 210 acquires the output device information 300 from the PC 240. Since no output device is connected to the PC 240, the file management server 210 acquires the output device information 300 including only “PC” in the attribute type from the PC 240.

  In step S <b> 906, the file management server 210 refers to the appearance determination method table 400 stored in the storage device 211. Then, the file management server 210 determines an appearance determination method corresponding to the PC. For example, when the appearance determination method table 400 shown in FIG. 4 is used as the appearance determination method corresponding to the PC, it is the fourth determination condition from the top, that is, the proximity user whose inter-user distance is within 2 m. This is a judgment method using judgment conditions.

  In step S908, the file management server 210 acquires the user position information 700 from the position management server 220, and extracts a proximity user whose distance from the access user is within 2 m.

  For example, in the case of the user position information 700 shown in FIG. 7, the user with the user ID “0001” who is the access user and the proximity user within 2 m are the users with the user ID “0002”.

In step S911, the file management server 210 estimates that the proximity user with the user ID “0002” is the viewing user from the result of step S908.
In step S <b> 912, the file management server 210 creates metadata of the proximity user with the user ID “0002”. In step S <b> 913, the file management server 210 stores the user ID and metadata of the browsing user in the metadata table 800 in association with the file ID of the file estimated to be browsed.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing search processing by the file management server 210.
The file management server 210 waits for access from a user terminal that is communicably connected to the file management server 210 via a wired or wireless network (step S1401 NO).

  When access is detected from the user terminal (YES in step S1401), the file management server 210 performs user authentication (step S1402). In the process of step S1402, the same process as step S903 shown in FIG. 9 is performed. However, if the process of step S1402 has already been performed within a certain period, the process of step S1402 may be omitted.

  In step S1403, the file management server 210 acquires a keyword input from the user terminal. This keyword can specify, for example, the date and time when the file was viewed, the output device on which the viewed file was displayed, the user ID of the user who displayed the viewed file, the location where the file was viewed, and the like.

  In step S <b> 1404, the file management server 210 reads one metadata of the browsing user whose user ID matches the user ID acquired in step S <b> 1402 from the metadata table 800.

  If the metadata read in step S1404 includes the keyword acquired in step S1403 (YES in step S1405), the file management server 210 moves the process to step S1406. In this case, the file management server 210 registers the file name of the file ID corresponding to the metadata read in step S1404 in the search result list. Then, the file management server 210 moves the process to step S1407.

  If the metadata read in step S1404 does not include the keyword acquired in step S1403 (NO in step S1405), the file management server 210 moves the process to step S1407.

  If the metadata of the browsing user whose user ID matches the user ID acquired in step S1402 is not read in the metadata table 800 (NO in step S1407), the file management server 210 performs processing. Goes to step S1404.

  When all the metadata of the browsing user having the user ID that matches the user ID acquired in step S1402 is read in the metadata table 800 (YES in step S1407), the file management server 210 moves the process to step S1408. In this case, the file management server 210 outputs the search result list to the user terminal that has been subjected to user authentication in step S1402.

When the above process ends, the file management server 210 ends the search process (step S1409).
In step S1403, it is also possible to simply specify “seen” as a keyword. This keyword “seen” means that all files browsed in the past are to be searched. In this case, when the process of step S1404 is completed, the file management server 210 may omit step S1405 and proceed to step S1406.

  As a result, a list of all files browsed in the past by the user with the user ID that matches the user ID acquired in step S1402 is registered in the search result list by the process of step S1406. The search result list is output to the user terminal that has been authenticated in step S1402 (step S1408).

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the file management server 210.
The file management server 210 includes a CPU 1501, a memory 1502, an input device 1503, an output device 1504, an external storage device 1505, a medium drive device 1506, and a network connection device 1508. These devices are connected to a bus so that data can be exchanged between them.

  The CPU 1501 is an arithmetic device that executes a program for realizing file management according to the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 9, 11, and 14 in addition to executing peripheral devices and various software.

  The memory 1502 is a volatile storage device used to execute a program. As the memory 1502, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) can be used.

The input device 1503 is an external data input means. For example, a keyboard or a mouse can be used as the input device 1503.
The output device 1504 is a device that outputs data or the like to a display device or the like. Note that the output device 1504 may include a display device.

  The external storage device 1505 stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the file management server 210, a program for realizing file management according to the present embodiment, an appearance determination method table 400, schedule information 500, a metadata table 800, and the like. A storage device for storing. For example, a magnetic disk storage device can be used as the external storage device 1505. Note that the storage device 211 may be used as the external storage device 1505.

  The medium driving device 1506 outputs the data of the memory 1502 and the external storage device 1505 to a portable storage medium 1507, for example, a floppy disk, an MO disk, a CD-R, a DVD-R, or the like, or from the portable storage medium 1507. It is a device that reads programs and data.

The network connection device 1508 is a device connected to the network 1509.
The configuration shown in FIG. 15 is an example of the file management server 210. Therefore, the file management server 210 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. The file management server 210 can omit unnecessary components from the components shown in FIG. 15 or add new components not shown in FIG. 15 as necessary. In addition, a non-transitory medium can be used as a storage medium readable by the information processing device such as the memory 1502, the external storage device 1505, and the portable storage medium 1507.

  As described above, the file management server 210 determines the output device specified by the output device information 300 from the positional relationship between the access user and the adjacent user, for example, the distance between users, according to the determined appearance determination method. Estimate the browsing user who viewed the file output to. Then, the file management server 210 stores the user ID and metadata of the browsing user in the metadata table 800 in association with the file ID of the file estimated to be browsed.

  By using the metadata table 800, for example, the file on the basis of conditions such as presence / absence of browsing, date / time of browsing, output device on which the browsed file was displayed, user ID of the user who viewed the browsed file, location of browsing, etc. Can be easily searched.

  That is, the user who has browsed the file can be easily searched for by simply browsing the file read from the storage device 211 and displayed by the user terminal or the output device connected to the user terminal. It becomes.

  Also, simply browsing the file read from the storage device 211 and displayed by the user terminal or the output device connected to the user terminal, for example, based on ambiguous storage, such as the presence or absence of browsing, the date and time of browsing, It becomes possible to easily search for a desired file.

  As described above, according to the file management server 210, it is possible to easily search for a desired file.

The following supplementary notes are further disclosed with respect to the embodiments including the above examples.
(Appendix 1)
When access from an external device to electronic data stored in a storage device is detected, output device information about an output device from which the external device outputs arbitrary electronic data is accessed from the external device accessing the electronic data. Acquired,
A second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device and a user other than the first user according to the output device information Estimate
Generating related information associating the electronic data with identification information for identifying a second user estimated to have viewed the electronic data, and storing the related information in a storage device;
An electronic data management method in which an information processing apparatus performs processing.
(Appendix 2)
For each output device information, it is estimated that the first user and a user other than the first user who are located within a certain range from the first user both view the electronic data. Estimating a second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device
The electronic data management method according to attachment 1, wherein the electronic data management method is described above.
(Appendix 3)
Electronic data associated with identification information obtained by searching for identification information that matches identification information for identifying a third user, which is an arbitrary user, among the identification information included in the related information Output information,
The electronic data management method according to appendix 1, wherein the information processing apparatus further performs processing.
(Appendix 4)
The positional relationship includes a relationship between the location of the first user and the location of the second user corresponding to the location of the first user.
The electronic data management method according to attachment 2, wherein the electronic data management method is described above.
(Appendix 5)
The positional relationship includes a distance between the first user and the second user.
The electronic data management method according to attachment 2, wherein the electronic data management method is described above.
(Appendix 6)
The positional relationship includes the relationship between the location of the first user and the location of the second user corresponding to the location of the first user, and the distance between the first user and the second user. Including,
The electronic data management method according to attachment 2, wherein the electronic data management method is described above.
(Appendix 7)
The related information is information that associates the electronic data, identification information that identifies the first user, and identification information that identifies the second user.
The electronic data management method according to attachment 1, wherein the electronic data management method is described above.
(Appendix 8)
The related information includes the date and time estimated that the second user viewed the electronic data, the location, the output device from which the electronic data was output, and the output of audio to the output device from which the electronic data was output. At least one of the presence or absence of
The electronic data management method according to attachment 1, wherein the electronic data management method is described above.
(Appendix 9)
When access from an external device to electronic data stored in a storage device is detected, output device information about an output device from which the external device outputs arbitrary electronic data is accessed from the external device accessing the electronic data. Acquired,
A second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device and a user other than the first user according to the output device information Estimate
Generating related information associating the electronic data with identification information for identifying a second user estimated to have browsed the electronic data, and storing the related information in the storage device;
A program that causes a computer to execute processing.
(Appendix 10)
When access from an external device to electronic data stored in a storage device is detected, output device information about an output device from which the external device outputs arbitrary electronic data is accessed from the external device accessing the electronic data. A device information acquisition unit to acquire;
A second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device and a user other than the first user according to the output device information An estimation unit for estimating
A storage processing unit that generates related information that associates the electronic data with identification information that identifies a second user estimated to have browsed the electronic data, and stores the related information in the storage device;
An electronic data management device comprising:

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Electronic data management apparatus 110 Equipment information acquisition part 120 Estimation part 130 Storage processing part 140 Storage part 150 External apparatus 160 Output apparatus

Claims (5)

When access from an external device to electronic data stored in a storage device is detected, output device information about an output device from which the external device outputs arbitrary electronic data is accessed from the external device accessing the electronic data. Acquired,
A second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device and a user other than the first user according to the output device information Estimate
Generating related information associating the electronic data with identification information for identifying a second user estimated to have viewed the electronic data, and storing the related information in a storage device;
An electronic data management method in which an information processing apparatus performs processing. For each output device information, it is estimated that the first user and a user other than the first user who are located within a certain range from the first user both view the electronic data. Estimating a second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device
The electronic data management method according to claim 1. Electronic data associated with identification information obtained by searching for identification information that matches identification information for identifying a third user, which is an arbitrary user, among the identification information included in the related information Output information,
The electronic data management method according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus further performs processing. When access from an external device to electronic data stored in a storage device is detected, output device information about an output device from which the external device outputs arbitrary electronic data is accessed from the external device accessing the electronic data. Acquired,
A second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device and a user other than the first user according to the output device information Estimate
Generating related information associating the electronic data with identification information for identifying a second user estimated to have browsed the electronic data, and storing the related information in the storage device;
A program that causes a computer to execute processing. When access from an external device to electronic data stored in a storage device is detected, output device information about an output device from which the external device outputs arbitrary electronic data is accessed from the external device accessing the electronic data. A device information acquisition unit to acquire;
A second user who has viewed the electronic data output to the output device based on the relationship between the first user who uses the external device and a user other than the first user according to the output device information An estimation unit for estimating
A storage processing unit that generates related information that associates the electronic data with identification information that identifies a second user estimated to have browsed the electronic data, and stores the related information in the storage device;
An electronic data management device comprising: